


Reunited

by searchingforsigns



Series: Aftermath [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:09:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5426717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/searchingforsigns/pseuds/searchingforsigns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Second Installment in Aftermath. Max and Chloe visit the hospital to find the survivors of Arcadia Bay</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunited

When Chloe had first reunited with her mother, there was silence. A sharp silence that could chop iron if given the power. Neither could truly believe that they were there, together, save and alive. Then there was a waterfall of tears, Joyce reached out for Chloe and the aquamarine haired girl happily closed the space between her mother and her hospital bed, and the two embraced, shaking and sobbing. "I'm so sorry," Chloe murmured repeatedly, and Joyce hushed her softly, stroking her back in a loving embrace only a mother could give. The emotion was so raw, but felt so private, Max had to back out of the room. She felt as though she was intruding. She asks the nurse outside of the door where Kate Marsh was, so the stocky woman with the mousy brown hair led her to her friend's room.  
Another meeting Max had to ready herself for, even though she knew Kate wouldn't judge her. But she still found herself straightening out the skirt her mother suggested she wore (and at this point, Max would do anything to make her happy) and then walked into the room alongside the short nurse.   
When they walked in, the small blonde girl was curled up in her bed, sketching in her cherished book when they walked in. Max smiled, though her throat closed up with the feeling of tears in her eyes. Her best friend, besides Chloe of course, was alive.   
"Kate dear, you have a visitor." Kate looks up from her drawing, her face in-between states of concentration and confusion. All of the girls' friends and family had passed in the storm. What kind of sick joke was this?   
When she sees Max, her blue eyes grow lighter, and it seems as though a weight was lifted off the girl's shoulders. "Max," her voice cracks. "I've been praying every day that you were somehow alive." Max takes a few steps forward, gently slipping her hands into Kate's to show that she was here, and truly alive. That she wasn't a dream or a figment of the girl's imagination.   
"I'm here," Max gives a small smile, "I'm here." She hugs the beautiful girl, incredibly grateful that her friend was alive. If there was truly a god, he definitely was the reason the storm never hit Kate, who'd been through more then enough. That after all she'd been through, after her suicide attempt, she still had a second chance at life.   
-  
-  
After they had seen family and friends, the duo met outside once visiting hours were over, both exhausted from tears shed. Eventually, Max had found David and thanked him for saving her life, where she'd learned he'd also saved Kate's. he had cried when he had learned Chloe was alive, and he had also been a bit angry that they separated men from women, and neither Joyce or David had been stable enough to visit each other. Chloe was too nervous to talk to David and wanted to stay with her mother, so she did for the full time she could. Max had split her time between Kate and David, just listening to the church girl tell of the horrors that Max had caused. She'd started to cry that she had caused all of this, while Kate took it as she was crying for a horrible event.   
In Chloe's infamous pick up truck, the two spoke of their experiences. Chloe's voice was raw and her eyes were swollen and red. She rubs her face a few times and takes a deep breath before she speaks. "My mom is paralyzed from the waist down. Part of her spine was snapped from the impact of wood hitting it in the cafe. Max inhales sharply. In this reality, instead of Chloe's paralysis, Joyce had taken a blow. Her hands started to shake, and her lip quivered. She couldn't believe that she was the reason for all this damage. Chloe notices the girl's trembles, and she reaches over and squeezes her hand, leaning to kiss Max's forehead. "Max, I don't blame you for this. You gave me a second chance to let me make it up to David and Joyce. I will forever thank you for this." Max sniffles softly, and Chloe rests her hand on her freckled cheek, brushing off the tears that trailed their way down. "I love you, okay Max? Forever and always." The brunette nods, accepting the kiss that Chloe gently leaves on her lips.   
-  
-  
After they had eaten at a Denny's like restaurant, Max and Chloe rent out another motel room. Almost automatically, they had fallen asleep out of pure emotional exhaustion. Tomorrow would be another day of visits, so they needed all the energy they could get.   
-  
-  
The next day, Chloe musters up all of her courage to speak to David, and Max does the same to speak to Warren. The photographer had tried to avoid him, knowing that he was well aware that Max had caused all the damage, and she'd just left, allowing her home town to go down in flames and destruction. Not to mention, they'd kissed. Max honestly regretted her meeting with Warren, but she had needed the photo.   
Her heart was racing uncontrollably by the time the nurse stops her at Warren's room. Could she really do this? Max knew that she needed to, she needed to face Warren and say how sorry she was. Slowly, the brunette opens the door, chewing on the inside of her cheeks so hard they bled freely onto her tongue. "Warren?" She asks, her voice wavering. The boy looks over at her, a scowl instantly falling over his generally friendly face.   
"Why are you here?" Max takes his words as a blow, her hopes that he wouldn't be angry slowly deflating like a balloon. She should've expected he'd be angry. The photographer had every chance to go back and cause the storms demise. Max stays by the door, not willing herself to go any closer. She takes another deep breath before she speaks, flattening out her skirt before she looks up to speak.   
"I'm sorry. I heard you were taken here and I wanted to see how you were." Max's eyes start to fill with tears and she quickly blinks them away, wiping them off of her freckled cheeks. For a few seconds, Warren's face softened, but he quickly regains his scowl. "I'm alive, but there's only a few of us who lived. How does it feel Max, to know you caused all this?" It was like the Warren from her nightmare, and Max's heart starts to race.  
"I'm so sorry, I tried to fix everything but I couldn't." By then, Max was crying freely, not able to stop all the tears. Warren watches her cry, not sure how much longer he could put up this front. Deeply, truly, he cared for her, and seeing her in pain was hurting him as well. Finally he can't hold back, and he holds his arms out for a hug. Max quickly crosses the room and returns the gesture, saying she was sorry. She felt terrible, and she was so thankful that Warren had made it out alive.   
-  
-  
Chloe and Max stayed for four days, where they split their separate ways. The younger had to go home, but Chloe would stay until her parents could leave. Max would visit when she could. When she packed to leave with Chloe's old pickup, she hugs her best friend tightly. "I love you, I'll be back soon. I promise."  
Chloe kisses her and nods, squeezing her tight. "Soon."


End file.
